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Southern Water Skink (Eulamprus tympanum)

The Southern Water Skink is a medium-sized, diurnal skink associated with watercourses, wetlands, rocky shelter and dense vegetation in south-eastern Australia. On development sites, clearing of rocky refuges, wetland margins, native vegetation and fallen timber can remove shelter, foraging habitat and breeding habitat, while pollution, altered water flows and fragmentation can isolate populations.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Endangered.

Breeding season

Southern Water Skinks mate in spring, with ovulation and mating recorded in October. Females carry embryos through summer and give birth mainly in January and February, so clearing can affect mating adults, gravid females, newborns and sheltering animals at different times of year.

Reproductive mode: Viviparous. Females give birth to live young.

Litter size: One to five young in the eastern population studied; 2 to 7 young are reported for the Corangamite form, and 2 to 5 for the nominate form.

Gestation: 80 to 193 days, with a mean of about 121 days.

Size at birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Females first reproduce at 2 or 3 years, depending on the population.

Nest or egg sites: Not applicable. This species gives birth to live young. Breeding females and newborns use connected wetland-edge habitat with dense vegetation, rocks, logs, moist shelter and access to water.

Breeding frequency: Most mature females in the Corangamite form breed annually, although many females in another population were reported to breed biennially.

Confirm timing with local records and pre-clearance surveys, because temperature, rainfall, altitude and local seasonal conditions can shift activity, mating and birth timing between populations.

  • Mating: Mating occurs in spring and was recorded in October. Ovulation and mating were assumed to occur on 15 October in the reproductive study.
  • Gravid females: Females carry embryos from mating in October through summer. Recorded gestation lasts 80 to 193 days, with births mainly in January and February.
  • Births: Births occur mainly in January and February after summer gestation. Litters contain one to five young in the eastern population studied, and 2 to 7 young in the Corangamite form.
  • Newborns: Newborns are most abundant in January and February, immediately after birth. Young leave the parent and use separate microhabitats, including small scattered rocks and dense vegetation.
  • Active period: The Corangamite form is active from about mid spring, around September or October, through late autumn. It is diurnal, but the supplied documents do not define a precise activity peak or a single active period for all populations.
  • Winter inactivity: Animals emerge from winter inactivity at the start of the breeding season, indicating lower activity during winter. During cooler conditions, individuals shelter in rock fissures, log crevices and other moist refuges where machinery can cause injury before animals escape.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from September to February, covering the spring activity and mating period, summer gestation, and January to February births and juvenile dispersal. Winter shelter sites remain sensitive to rock, log and vegetation removal from June to August, even though animals are less surface active.

Identification

The Southern Water Skink is a medium-sized scincid with a golden-brown to olive-brown back, dark flecks or markings and a strongly patterned side. It is usually detected basking beside water, then rapidly entering a rock crevice, log fissure or the water when approached.

Adults are about 9.5 to 10 cm from snout to vent, with a tail that may add up to 15 cm. The dorsal colour ranges from pale olive to dark yellowish brown, with black flecks, irregular markings or broken bands on the back and tail.

The sides have a heavy irregular dark stripe or dark blotches. The throat may be greyish white with black patches or almost wholly black. The underside varies from bright yellow to pale greyish yellow and may have two longitudinal black lines, specks, patches or bars.

Snout to vent length: About 9.5 to 10 cm

Maximum tail length recorded: Up to 15 cm

Maximum recorded mass: Up to 25 g for the Corangamite form

Identification: Similar species

In western Victoria, the main identification issue is separation from the Corangamite Water Skink, Eulamprus tympanum marnieae. The Corangamite form usually has 43 or more mid-body scale rows, short irregular transverse dark bars on the back and bold black longitudinal markings on a yellow underside.

The nominate Southern Water Skink usually has 42 or fewer mid-body scale rows and small black flecks rather than short transverse bars on the back. Identification of unusual or intermediate animals should be supported by a clear colour photograph and, where required, examination by the relevant state fauna authority or museum.

  • Do not rely on colour alone, because colour and pattern vary within the Eulamprus tympanum complex.
  • Record the locality, habitat, behaviour and a scaleable photograph showing the whole animal and dorsal pattern.
  • Avoid handling animals unless authorised and necessary for identification.

Identification: Field signs and behaviour

There are no species-specific tracks, calls, nests or sloughs described in the supplied documents. The most useful field sign is an animal basking on a rock, dry stone wall, log or other warm surface beside water.

The skink is wary and may flee when an observer is still tens of metres away. It commonly disappears into deep cracks and fissures in rock piles, log crevices or the water. Tail loss can occur during escape, and the supplied material states that a lost tail is not regrown.

  • Search from a distance with binoculars before approaching rock piles, walls and wetland margins.
  • Treat rapid movement into rock fissures or water beside a wetland as a useful observation cue, not as evidence of absence.
  • Do not dismantle rock piles, lift shelter objects or enter deep fissures to confirm a record.

Distribution: States and bioregions

The species complex occurs in south-eastern Australia. The supplied sources provide detailed distribution information for the Corangamite form in south-western Victoria and records of the nominate Southern Water Skink in north-east Victoria, but they do not provide a complete national range for all populations of Eulamprus tympanum.

The Corangamite form is endemic to Victoria and is restricted to the Victorian Volcanic Plain IBRA bioregion in south-western Victoria. It occurs between Colac and Lake Bolac, over a maximum distance of about 100 km.

The nominate Southern Water Skink is recorded in north-east Victoria. The supplied north-east Victorian guide shows it in lowland grassland and woodland settings, but does not provide a complete state-wide distribution map.

Documented state: Victoria

Documented bioregion for the Corangamite form: Victorian Volcanic Plain

Documented western Victorian range: Between Colac and Lake Bolac, over about 100 km

Distribution: Strongholds and populations

The Corangamite form is known from rocky margins of wetlands, including sites around Lake Corangamite and Lake Bolac. The recovery plan describes 30 sites representing 11 discrete extant populations, although the survey guidelines refer to 10 extant populations based on earlier information.

Populations are isolated and may occur as small groups around suitable wetland edges, rocky rises, basalt outcrops and dry stone walls. Site-level records should be checked against current state databases because the supplied sources include older recovery and survey material.

Corangamite form known sites: 30 sites

Discrete extant populations: 11 in the recovery plan; an earlier survey guideline refers to 10

Population trend: Declining, with the Corangamite form lost from at least two historical locations

Habitat: Habitat types

Southern Water Skinks use habitat beside water where basking surfaces, dense vegetation and secure crevices occur together. Habitat suitability depends on the combination of water access, shelter and prey habitat rather than on open water alone.

The Corangamite form occurs in grassy open woodland and cleared pasture containing ephemeral swamps and lakes, as well as rocky margins of permanent and semi-permanent wetlands. Recorded water bodies include freshwater meadows, deep freshwater marshes, permanent open freshwater lakes, semi-permanent saline marshes and permanent saline lakes.

In north-east Victoria, the nominate form is associated with watercourses such as Scotchmans Creek and with lowland grassland and woodland habitats.

Habitat: Vegetation and structure

The Corangamite form is associated with Later Newer Basalts, known as the stony rises, including basalt ridges, boulder heaps, deeply fissured lava flows and collapsed lava-tube features.

Important vegetation includes remnant native shrubs and groundcover such as Scrub Nettle, Variable Groundsel, Tall Sedge and Tree Violet. Native vegetation, fallen timber, exposed rocks, dense shrubs and aquatic vegetation provide cover, basking sites and prey habitat.

  • Retain basalt outcrops, boulder heaps, dry stone walls and other rock features.
  • Retain dense native vegetation and native plants around wetland and creek margins.
  • Maintain a connected strip of shelter between rocky refuges and water.
  • Prevent stock access or manage grazing where trampling and vegetation loss threaten shelter and cover.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The supplied documents describe temperate populations in south-western and north-east Victoria. They do not provide a confirmed elevation limit for the species.

Activity is concentrated in the warmer part of the year. The Corangamite form is reported as active from mid-spring, around September or October, to late autumn, with greatest activity in warm but not overly dry conditions.

Foraging habitat: Food

The Southern Water Skink feeds mainly on small terrestrial and aquatic animals and occasionally fruit. It forages around sheltered wetland margins, vegetation, rock piles and shallow water.

Recorded food includes spiders, beetles, ants, insects and other invertebrates. Aquatic prey includes mayfly and dragonfly nymphs. The nominate form is also reported to eat tadpoles, frogs, snails, slugs, berries and smaller skinks.

The Corangamite form eats fruit of Tree Violet, Melicytus dentata, which may be important during some periods. Seeds of African Boxthorn and other unidentified plants have also been found in scats.

  • Retain native vegetation that supports insects and other invertebrate prey.
  • Retain wetland margins and shallow water used by aquatic invertebrates and amphibian prey.
  • Prevent sediment, chemical and nutrient runoff that may reduce prey availability or degrade water quality.

Foraging habitat: Foraging locations and range

Individuals have been observed foraging infrequently in vegetation and in shallow water along lake edges. They occupy small defined home ranges, most less than 10 square metres in the Corangamite form.

Home range size increases with distance from the waterline, indicating that preferred microhabitat is close to water. Juveniles use different microhabitats and activity periods from adults, possibly because of differences in prey size or interactions with adults.

Typical adult home range: Most less than 10 square metres in the Corangamite form

Preferred position: Moist, cool microhabitats close to the waterline

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Southern Water Skinks give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Breeding habitat is likely to be concentrated in the same wetland-edge areas that provide warm basking sites, dense cover and nearby rock or log refuges.

Females produce one litter per year. Most mature females breed annually. Juveniles leave the parent after birth and use separate microhabitats and activity periods from adults.

The supplied documents do not give a confirmed gestation period or a single breeding month for all populations. The nominate form is reported to give birth in summer, while the Corangamite form is described as producing 2 to 7 live young per year.

Reproduction: Viviparous, with live young

Birth period: Summer is reported for the nominate Southern Water Skink

Litter size: 2 to 5 young for the nominate form; 2 to 7 for the Corangamite form

Age at first reproduction: Females first reproduce at 2 or 3 years, depending on the population

Breeding frequency: Most mature females breed every year

Gestation: Not stated in the supplied documents

Lifespan: About 9 years estimated in the field for the Corangamite form; up to 15 years reported for the related nominate form

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

The documents do not identify a separate nest site because this species gives birth to live young. Breeding females and newborn young require connected habitat containing dense vegetation, small rocks, moist shelter and access to water.

Juveniles are associated with small scattered rocks and dense vegetation. Avoid clearing or disturbing these features during the summer birth period and while young animals are dispersing into juvenile microhabitats.

  • Retain dense vegetation and small scattered rocks around water edges.
  • Avoid separating rocky shelter from the wetland or creek margin.
  • Maintain moist, shaded refuge areas during hot and dry conditions.

Sheltering habitat: Rock and log refuges

Shelter is provided mainly by rock fissures, boulder heaps, log crevices, dense vegetation and water. These features are also used to escape predators and people, so disturbance can cause direct injury even when the animal is not visible.

Adults selectively use large rock aggregations with numerous fissures, deeply fissured basaltic flows, rocky mounds and dry stone walls. The recovery plan describes these as moist and cool microenvironments, often close to water.

The nominate form is reported to hide in cracks and crevices of logs and rocks. The supplied documents do not provide a standard refuge size or minimum fissure dimension.

  • Do not remove, stack, roll or dismantle rocks in potential habitat.
  • Retain dry stone walls, boulder heaps, fallen timber and large logs in place.
  • Inspect rock piles from a distance before using machinery or commencing manual removal.

Sheltering habitat: Vegetation and water refuges

Dense shrubs and vegetation provide shelter, particularly for juveniles. Juveniles use smaller scattered rocks and dense vegetation rather than the same microhabitats commonly used by adults.

When disturbed, Southern Water Skinks may enter the water and swim away. Water quality, wetland permanence and the connection between water and shelter therefore affect refuge availability.

  • Retain native shrubs, sedges, groundcover and aquatic-edge vegetation.
  • Keep machinery, spoil, sediment and construction materials out of wetland margins and creek banks.
  • Provide a clear no-go buffer around identified rock piles, walls, logs and dense juvenile cover until fauna management advice is in place.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The main risks are loss and disturbance of rocky wetland-edge habitat, changes to water availability or quality, grazing pressure and predation. The risks are high where a project removes the small patches of habitat that connect shelter, food and water.

Rock removal, vegetation clearance, wetland loss and inappropriate grazing have contributed to decline of the Corangamite form. Clearing can remove basking sites, rock fissures, juvenile cover and prey habitat at the same time.

Construction vibration, machinery movement, excavation and manual dismantling of rock piles can injure animals hidden in fissures. Fragmentation can isolate small populations and prevent movement between wetland-edge refuges.

  • Survey rocky rises, basalt outcrops, dry stone walls, fallen timber, dense vegetation and wetland margins before clearing.
  • Fence and mark retained habitat before machinery enters the site.
  • Do not use rock, log or debris removal as a first response to an animal that disappears into shelter.
  • Use a qualified fauna spotter catcher and an approved salvage or translocation protocol where habitat cannot be retained.

Threats: Hydrology and water quality

The recovery plan identifies wetland loss and inappropriate water management as threats. Drought has also been associated with concern for the Corangamite form.

Drainage, dewatering, altered flows, sedimentation, pollution and loss of shallow wetland margins can remove moist shelter and reduce aquatic prey. These effects may extend beyond the direct construction footprint.

  • Maintain natural or approved water levels and flow paths near occupied habitat.
  • Control sediment, concrete washout, fuel, chemicals and nutrient runoff.
  • Avoid draining or filling ephemeral swamps and shallow wetland margins without site-specific ecological assessment.

Threats: Grazing, predators and other pressures

Inappropriate grazing can reduce vegetation cover and damage rocky or wetland-edge habitat. The supplied Victorian guide identifies habitat loss, fragmentation, vegetation degradation, overgrazing, weed invasion, predation, bush rock removal and fallen timber removal as pressures on reptiles.

The Monash project identifies urbanisation, vegetation removal, pollution and climate change as pressures on a Southern Water Skink population. The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific disease or provide quantified road mortality for this species.

  • Manage livestock access to prevent trampling of rock piles, creek banks, wetland margins and dense juvenile cover.
  • Retain fallen timber and natural rock because both provide reptile shelter.
  • Control introduced predators, especially cats, where supported by the project assessment.
  • Keep vehicle speeds low near wetland-edge habitat and prevent vehicles from driving over rocks, logs or dense vegetation.
  • Do not assume that absence during a hot, dry or disturbed survey means the species is absent.

Survey methodology: 1. Confirm the taxon and map habitat

Survey design must reflect the taxon and habitat present. Confirm whether the project may affect Southern Water Skink, Eulamprus tympanum tympanum, or the nationally listed Corangamite Water Skink, Eulamprus tympanum marnieae, because their identification, distribution and approval requirements differ.

Define the project area and map waterways, wetlands, rock piles, dry stone walls, rock outcrops, dense native vegetation, fallen timber and connected riparian habitat before selecting survey methods.

Use state and Australian Government biodiversity databases, recovery plans, museum records and published records to establish whether the species or Corangamite subspecies occurs in the region.

Treat records near the known range of the Corangamite Water Skink, between Colac and Lake Bolac in south-western Victoria, as requiring taxonomic confirmation. The subspecies is known from isolated populations over about 100 kilometres and has been recorded at 30 sites representing 11 extant populations in the recovery plan.

Survey methodology: 2. Visual searches of rock habitat

Search likely shelter sites by observation from a distance, using binoculars where suitable. Prioritise large, deeply fissured basalt flows, rock piles, dry stone walls, rocky mounds and dense vegetation close to permanent or ephemeral water.

Search during the documented activity period for the Corangamite Water Skink, from mid spring, September or October, to late autumn. In temperate months, search from late morning to afternoon, and in hotter months shift effort towards early and probably late afternoon.

Survey in warm conditions that are not overly dry, because the guideline identifies these as likely to provide the best activity conditions. Avoid disturbing rock piles or lifting rocks during the search.

Record basking animals, animals entering fissures, escape direction, the rock feature used, distance to water and nearby vegetation. The Corangamite Water Skink is extremely wary and may take cover when an observer is still tens of metres away.

Survey methodology: 3. Trapping and supplementary methods

Use Elliot traps only where the relevant fauna authority has approved the method and the project fauna management plan specifies trap placement, checking, weather limits and animal welfare controls. The species guideline identifies Elliot traps as a possible supplementary method but does not provide a standard number of traps, trap nights or transect length.

Do not rely on a single method. Combine visual searches with habitat mapping and targeted searches of suitable rock and wetland edges, particularly where the species is difficult to approach or where a negative result would affect a clearing decision.

Do not use spotlighting as the primary method for this species. The supplied guideline recommends observation with binoculars and identifies Elliot traps as a possible additional method, rather than providing a validated spotlighting protocol.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use the approved project survey plan to state the search area, dates, start and finish times, weather, observers, method, habitat searched, trap locations and any limitations.
  • Repeat or extend the survey when weather, season, access or visibility is unsuitable, and explain the limitation rather than treating a non-detection as evidence of absence.
  • Photograph every potential record in colour, including the whole animal and the habitat feature where practical. The Corangamite Water Skink guideline recommends photo vouchers because it can be confused with the Southern Water Skink.
  • Send potential Corangamite Water Skink photo vouchers to the relevant Victorian fauna authority and Museum Victoria for identification and databasing.
  • Submit confirmed records and suitable negative-survey data to the relevant state wildlife database, such as the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas in Victoria, and retain the record coordinates and observer details.
  • Report any record that may trigger an approval condition, unexpected species action or stop-work response to the project environmental officer immediately.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Plan the work around the skink's dependence on water, rocky shelter and connected vegetation. Avoid removing or isolating these features, especially where rock habitat lies beside a watercourse or wetland.

Retain large, deeply fissured rock piles, basalt outcrops, dry stone walls, scattered rocks, dense native vegetation and fallen timber beside permanent or ephemeral water.

Keep watercourses, wetland margins and moist, cool refuge areas connected to retained rock habitat. Do not place stockpiles, compounds, access tracks or drainage works across these connections.

Retain native plants recorded from Corangamite Water Skink habitat, including Scrub Nettle, Variable Groundsel, Tall Sedge and Tree Violet, where they occur.

Prevent rock removal, vegetation clearance, wetland loss, altered water management, inappropriate grazing, pollution and uncontrolled access within or adjoining retained habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

Check the current EPBC Act listing and refer the action if it is likely to have a significant impact on the nationally listed taxon. The Corangamite Water Skink is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act.

Check state threatened-species listings, wildlife handling requirements, survey permits, collection or relocation approvals and any local planning controls before work starts.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies mapped habitat, no-go areas, survey results, authorised handlers, handling equipment, relocation sites, injury procedures, stop-work triggers and reporting contacts.

Stage clearing so that retained rock, vegetation and wetland habitat remains connected while each work area is surveyed, cleared and checked.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

Complete the approved pre-clearance survey during the documented active period where possible, with searches focused on rock piles, fissures, walls, dense vegetation and wetland edges.

Mark no-go habitat and the edges of retained rock and wetland areas before machinery enters the site.

Install exclusion fencing where it can keep machinery, vehicles, spoil and people out of retained habitat without blocking the skinks' access to retained water and shelter.

Brief machinery operators and the fauna spotter catcher on the species' wary behaviour, likely escape routes, habitat features and the requirement not to lift or move rocks without approval.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Use a controlled clearing process that allows the fauna spotter catcher to inspect habitat before machinery disturbs it. The animal is small, fast and likely to flee into rock fissures or water when approached.

The fauna spotter catcher must inspect the daily work area, exclusion fencing and access route before machinery starts.

Use staged, slow clearing towards retained habitat only where the approved fauna management plan identifies a safe escape direction and retained refuge.

Keep machinery, vehicles, spoil, sediment and fuels out of mapped rock piles, wetland margins, watercourses and retained vegetation.

Require the spotter catcher to remain in a position where the operator can see and communicate with them, and stop machinery immediately when the spotter gives the stop signal.

Do not allow workers to chase animals, block escape routes, dismantle rock piles or enter fissures to retrieve a skink.

During habitat disturbance: Handling habitat features

Treat deeply fissured basalt, rock piles, dry stone walls, dense shrubs, fallen timber and moist vegetation close to water as potential shelter habitat.

Do not move rocks, dismantle walls, remove logs or clear dense vegetation until the fauna spotter catcher has inspected the feature and the environmental officer has approved the sequence.

Protect wetlands and their margins from sediment, contaminated runoff, altered drainage and unnecessary dewatering, because the skink uses habitat beside permanent and ephemeral water.

If a rock feature must be moved, use the approved method in the fauna management plan, keep the spotter catcher present, and reinstate suitable rocks and fissures in retained or approved rehabilitation habitat.

During habitat disturbance: Animal found, injury and stop-work response

Stop work around the animal and give it an escape route to nearby retained rock, vegetation and water habitat.

Only an appropriately authorised fauna spotter catcher or other person named in the approved plan may capture, handle or relocate the skink.

Avoid handling where the animal can move safely without intervention. If capture is required, use the least stressful approved method and do not hold the animal by the tail.

Relocate an animal only when authorised and only to nearby suitable retained habitat identified in the plan, unless the relevant wildlife authority directs otherwise.

Take an injured animal to an appropriately qualified veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer in accordance with the project procedure, and record the outcome.

Stop work and notify the environmental officer if a skink is found in the active work area, if an unmarked habitat feature is discovered, if an animal is injured, or if exclusion fencing or sediment controls fail.

During habitat disturbance: Records and incident reporting

Record each sighting, capture, relocation, injury, mortality and habitat feature affected, including date, time, coordinates, weather, habitat, photographs, action taken and the names of authorised personnel.

Record the direction of escape and the release location for every relocated animal.

Report a confirmed or potential Corangamite Water Skink record with a good quality colour photograph to the relevant Victorian fauna authority and Museum Victoria for identification and databasing.

Provide daily fauna records and any stop-work or injury incident to the project environmental officer and include them in the final compliance report.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

The project is not complete when machinery leaves the site. Check that retained habitat is intact, water conditions are stable and controls have not isolated the skink from shelter or wetland habitat.

Inspect the cleared area, exclusion fencing, retained rock piles, dry stone walls, dense vegetation, fallen timber and wetland margins after each clearing stage.

Remove spoil, waste, temporary fencing and access controls that obstruct retained habitat, unless they are part of an approved protection measure.

Repair damaged rocks, walls, logs, native vegetation and wetland edges in accordance with the fauna management plan, and prevent machinery from entering during repairs.

Check for injured, trapped or isolated skinks before demobilisation and follow the authorised handling and veterinary procedure if one is found.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained habitat and any approved relocation area using the same visual search approach, activity period and habitat observations used for the pre-clearance survey.

Include rock shelter condition, vegetation cover, wetland condition, water management, weed invasion, predator signs and connectivity in monitoring records.

Report confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and provide photo vouchers for potential Corangamite Water Skink records to the relevant Victorian fauna authority and Museum Victoria.

Maintain fauna records, monitoring results, incidents, corrective actions and approval conditions in the project environmental file.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and corrective action

Apply any EPBC Act approval, state approval or planning requirement for offsets, restoration or compensatory habitat.

Do not use an offset as a substitute for retaining occupied or suitable rock and wetland habitat on the project site where avoidance is practicable.

Escalate declining monitoring results, loss of water access, damaged refuge features or repeated fauna incidents to the approval holder and relevant authority, and implement the approved corrective action.

Rehabilitation actions: Rebuild shelter and vegetation

Rehabilitation should recreate the linked habitat elements used by the skink: moist refuge, fissured rock, dense native cover and access to permanent or ephemeral water. Set the design and success measures before works begin.

Retain and reinstate large rocks, rock piles, fissures, dry stone wall sections and fallen timber in stable configurations that provide shaded, moist refuge.

Plant locally appropriate native vegetation suited to the site, including native shrubs, sedges and groundcover. In Corangamite Water Skink habitat, retain or re-establish Scrub Nettle, Variable Groundsel, Tall Sedge and Tree Violet where they are suitable and available.

Control pasture grasses and other weeds where they replace native cover or block access between rock habitat and water, using methods that do not disturb occupied fissures.

Do not import rocks, soil or vegetation that could introduce weeds, pathogens or contaminated material.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore water and connectivity

Maintain permanent or ephemeral wetland function and prevent altered drainage, sediment, pollution and excessive drying from affecting retained refuge habitat.

Connect rock piles and wetland margins with retained or replanted native cover rather than leaving isolated habitat islands.

Use fencing or other controls to manage livestock grazing where grazing damages native vegetation, rock shelter or wetland margins.

Do not install nest boxes for this species as a substitute for rocky refuge. The supplied documents identify fissured rocks, vegetation and proximity to water as its shelter habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Weeds, predators and fire

Manage weeds and introduced predators under the approved site plan, with priority given to habitat edges, rock piles and wetland margins.

Prevent domestic animals and uncontrolled public access from entering retained refuge habitat where they cause disturbance or predation risk.

Develop fire controls that protect dense native cover, rock shelter and wetland edges, and avoid applying fire without a site-specific ecological assessment and approval.

Inspect rehabilitation after fire, flood, drought or construction damage and repair lost cover, rocks or wetland connections.

Rehabilitation actions: Success measures and monitoring

Monitor the condition of reinstated rocks, fissures, native vegetation, fallen timber, wetland margins and connections to water during the approved monitoring period.

Use repeat visual searches during the documented active period, from September or October to late autumn for the Corangamite Water Skink, and record effort and weather so results can be compared over time.

Treat successful rehabilitation as retention or recovery of connected rocky refuge, native cover and suitable wetland access, with no recurring construction-related injuries or habitat-control failures.

Report monitoring results and confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database, and update the fauna management plan if rehabilitation does not maintain suitable shelter, vegetation or water access.

Sources